Rishi Sunak has torn up his manifesto of pledges from the summer’s Tory leadership contest, including a 10-point plan to tackle immigration.
The prime minister is in discussions with ministers to determine which of his promises are still “deliverable” and “possible” – and every pledge is on the table, his spokesperson said.
She also indicated that both pensions and benefits promises could be changed in chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s autumn statement in two weeks’ time.
Meanwhile, the prime minister has admitted that “not enough” asylum-seeker claims are being processed by the government.
Asked about numbers being processed amid overcrowding at the Manston migrant centre in Kent, Mr Sunak told MPs that the straightforward answer was “not enough”.
He said the migrant crisis was a “serious and escalating problem” but insisted the government was getting a grip on the situation and backed home secretary Suella Braverman’s handling of the issue.
Polling guru Professor Sir John Curtice has said the reappointment of Ms Braverman put the prime minister’s general election hopes at risk.
Mr Sunak also reversed his decision to skip Cop27, saying renewables were at the heart of energy security.
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Sunak tears up manifesto of leadership election promises
Rishi Sunak has torn up his manifesto of pledges from the summer’s Tory leadership contest, including a 10-point plan to tackle immigration. Andrew Woodcock reports:
PM shamed into climate talks U-turn, says Labour
Shadow climate secretary Ed Miliband said the Prime Minister was shamed into going to the Cop27 climate talks by the “torrent of criticism that there was, Boris Johnson going to Cop, his own Cop president Alok Sharma saying he was wrong not to go”.
“He’s not going to provide leadership, he’s going out of embarrassment, that’s not a great position for Britain to be in.
“There should be no question about our Prime Minister going to Cop – this is the most important environmental event that takes place each year, we should not be abdicating the world stage, and that’s what Rishi Sunak was planning to do until he was forced into going,” Mr Miliband said.
Mr Sunak decided to attend the Cop27 summit after making “good progress” with Chancellor Jeremy Hunt on this month’s autumn statement, Downing Street said.
The official spokesman said: “He has always recognised the importance of this summit and indeed on tacking climate change more generally. We wanted to make sure we were making good progress on the Government’s domestic agenda and the autumn statement in particular.
“Following discussions with the Chancellor this week he has now agreed to attend. The Prime Minister feels there is sufficient space to make this trip.”
The spokesman said Mr Sunak was hoping to make progress on the commitment to halt deforestation by 2030 and to agree new partnerships on clean and renewable energy.
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Matt Hancock showing contempt for constituents, says Labour
Labour has accused Matt Hancock of treating his constituents with contempt by jetting off to the jungle for I‘m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!
A casually dressed Mr Hancock has arrived in Brisbane as he prepares to enter the jungle.
A Labour Party spokesman said: “Clearly the responsibility of Members of Parliament is to be representing their constituents, whether that’s in their constituency or in Parliament, and that is not what Matt Hancock is doing.
“It’s not something that we would support in terms of him doing. I think it shows contempt for his constituents to be going off to Australia to earn money in this way.
“I think it also raises questions around the rules on former ministers seeking employment as well.”
In an article for The Sun, the former health secretary argued it was “a great opportunity to talk directly to people who aren’t always interested in politics“.
He said reality TV was an “honest and unfiltered” way to communicate with voters.
“It’s our job as politicians to go to where the people are – not to sit in ivory towers in Westminster,” Mr Hancock wrote.
“There are many ways to do the job of being an MP. Whether I’m in camp for one day or three weeks, there are very few places people will be able to see a politician as they really are.”
PM reviews campaign pledges
Rishi Sunak is reviewing the pledges he made during his Tory leadership campaign to assess whether they are still “deliverable”, Downing Street says.
The Prime Minister’s press secretary said the economic situation had changed since the campaign over the summer when Mr Sunak lost out to Ms Truss.
“We are looking at all the campaign pledges and we are looking at whether it is the right time to take them forward,” she said.
“We need to take some time to make sure what is deliverable and what is possible, and engaging with stakeholders and with the relevant secretaries of state as well.
“Obviously, those are pledges that were made a few months ago now and the context is somewhat different, obviously, economically. We need to look again.”
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Sunak: I’ll go to climate talks to boost economic growth
Rishi Sunak has suggested he will go to the next climate talks for economic growth and energy security, but did not cite environmental or biodiversity disaster.
He also did not commit to fulfilling Britain’s promises made at Cop26 when challenged at PMQs.
Challenged by Conservative former minister Vicky Ford to confirm the Government would fulfil the promises made in Glasgow at Cop 26, Mr Sunak said: “I agree with her there is no long-term prosperity without action on climate change and there is no energy security without investment in renewables.
“That’s why I will attend Cop27 next week, to deliver on Glasgow’s legacy of building a secure, clean and sustainable future.”
